Traditional Zen and historical sources alike affirm that Bodhidharma did indeed have disciples, and that his teaching did not end with his own austere practice in China. Within the Chan/Zen lineage, this continuity is expressed most clearly in the figure of Huike (慧可), who is regarded as Bodhidharma’s primary successor and the Second Patriarch of Chan in China. The well-known story of Huike cutting off his arm to demonstrate his resolve, while dramatic, serves above all as a symbolic expression of the radical commitment expected in this lineage. Through the transmission to Huike, Bodhidharma’s teaching is said to flow onward to later patriarchs such as Sengcan, Daoxin, and Hongren, forming the backbone of the Zen tradition.

At the same time, the record does not limit Bodhidharma’s influence to a single heir. Various traditional accounts name several other disciples, suggesting a small but diverse circle of practitioners around him. Figures such as Daoyu (also rendered Dao Yu), Daofu (Dao Fu), and the nun Zongchi appear in these sources as students who received instruction from him, even if their lives are not as extensively documented as Huike’s. Some texts also mention a lay disciple named Duman, indicating that Bodhidharma’s teaching was not confined solely to monastics. Although modern scholarship may debate the precise historical details, within the living Zen tradition Bodhidharma is remembered as a teacher whose Dharma was transmitted through multiple disciples, with Huike standing as the most prominent and influential among them.